


I Wish It Were A Dream, but Our Situation Says Otherwise

by ConjurerofWords



Category: GOT7, TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alien Invasion, Angst, Explicit Language, Family Feels, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 14:38:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6758125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConjurerofWords/pseuds/ConjurerofWords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which two siblings are lost and found, except to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Wish It Were A Dream, but Our Situation Says Otherwise

**Author's Note:**

> I was hoping for aliens in this Twice comeback, but I didn't get any, so I wrote this instead.  
> I somehow had the attention span to edit this for four hours, but there may still be mistakes.  
> (forgive the title, it took me far too long to come up with that)

“Nayeon! Tzuyu’s bleeding!”

Nayeon looks up from the map in her hands to see Momo and Jeongyeon carrying Tzuyu into the living room, their makeshift infirmary. They lay her on the couch, blood staining their pants.

“What happened?” Nayeon asks, picking up the first aid kit.

“We were getting supplies from Chaeyoung’s house when the ship passed by. It sounded like they were landing, so we ran. Tzuyu tripped and cut her leg on a broken bottle.”

Jeongyeon’s hands shake as she watches Nayeon bandage Tzuyu’s leg. The girl’s eyes are barely open and she groans whenever Nayeon moves her leg too much.

* * *

 

Jaebum’s been driving this fucking van for two weeks and he still hasn’t found his sister.

He’s not alone though, and he has to try hard to keep it together in front of them.

Jackson likes to play games, occasionally poking Jaebum in the shoulder blades to make him guess what Jackson spies with his little eye. It makes the ride more pleasant.

(Jaebum’s fingers are gripping the steering wheel after five straight hours of driving with no town in sight.)

Youngjae is the music aficionado of the group, never leaving the radio off and singing along to whatever he recognizes, which is quite a bit.

(When everyone else is sleeping, Jaebum turns the radio to the news station. His teeth clench as the Family Rediscovery program doesn’t mention Nayeon. Again.)

Mark, map in hand, tells Jaebum which exit to pull off of. They find a city that doesn’t look completely abandoned, with a fairly small population and a semi-functioning town hall.

(The look of hope he entered with turns into a look of despair when they tell him they don’t know of any teenage girls with the family name “Im.”)

It doesn’t seem to be a complete waste, however, as Jackson is reunited with the man who kept him safe in the first few days after the invasion. Joon is a weary-looking older man, who doesn’t talk much to anyone except for Jackson, which suits Jaebum just fine.

But one night, after they’ve parked at an abandoned drive-in, and everyone except for Jaebum and Joon has crammed themselves into the van, the older man shuffles next to Jaebum at the side of the van and leans against it.

“I was taken by them.”

(Them, Jaebum thinks.)

“I don’t exactly remember what they look like. Slipped in and out of conscience most of the time. A lot of us did.”

(Us.)                 

“Said your name was Im?”

Jaebum nods.

“Place they dumped us in once they were done, I met a guy with that name. Said he was looking for his two kids. Mentioned you.”

“He...well, he’s dead. He was in a lot of pain the first few days after. Settled down a bit eventually. He went quietly.”

Jaebum nods again. He knew already.

Joon breathes loudly through his nose and shifts his feet uncomfortably.

“Look, I heard about a girl who was in some place about five days away. Sounds like she might be your sister.”

Jaebum’s heart races.

“Everyone’s kind of scared over there, though. Buddy of mine told me that the ships keep flying over every now and then.”

“Is it a straight drive?”

“Yep. I can outline it on your map, if you want...?”

Jaebum nods again, and Joon goes back to the front seat of the van, leaving Jaebum to cry in solitude.

Four days into the drive, Joon notices Jaebum’s tight grip on the wheel.

“Hey, you okay?”

Jaebum looks at Joon from the corner of his eye.

“...Is this about what happened last night?”

Jaebum doesn’t answer. He looks up to the rearview mirror; none of the others seem to be paying any attention the two in the front.

“Kid, I’m sure no one noticed.”

“Nayeon’s going to notice.”

“She won’t care.”

“Just like she won’t care that our father’s dead.”

“You had nothing to do with that and you know it.”

“But what if I did? What if they let my father die because they knew my body was accepting whatever the fuck they put in us?”

“Keep your goddamn voice down, will you?”

Jaebum glances at the mirror again and sees Kunpimook’s eyes peeking up from behind his book.

Jaebum looks back at the road and, sighing, loosens his grip on the steering wheel.

“Point still stands.”

“No, it doesn’t. You didn’t choose this, Jaebum, but you can control it.”

“Well, looking at last night, that doesn’t seem to be true anymore.”

“Ah, get over it, will you? Nobody noticed. It’s not going to just go away.”

“That’s what I mean when I say ‘control,’ you know. Don’t ignore it and let it take over your life.”

“That’s easy to say for someone who’s already done it.”

“That’s why I say it. Because I know it’s possible.”

Jaebum exhales and shakes his head. Behind them, Kunpimook finally turns the page of his book.

* * *

 

“Nayeon! We saw Jaebum!”

Nayeon drops her book and runs to the door where Momo and Jeongyeon are panting and pointing.

They run about halfway through the neighborhood before Nayeon is yanked back by Momo.

“Shh! They stopped him just there.”

And there stands Jaebum, talking with their extraterrestrial guests.

“Do they even understand him?” Jeongyeon mutters from behind Momo.

Apparently, they do, because they make some sort of vague motion that looks like a wave, before returning to their ship. As if they’ve had an actual conversation.

Jaebum keeps walking until Nayeon barrels into him, and they both burst into tears on the spot.

* * *

 

Momo and Jeongyeon let them have their moment for all of ten seconds before they rush the siblings and start hurrying them back to the house because the ship’s going to be back. Jaebum doesn’t say anything, but it’s obvious to Nayeon that this isn’t as much of a concern to him as it is to them, and so she spends the rest of the night catching up with him and the other boys, grinning at Jaebum when they see the flushed look on Mark’s and Jihyo’s faces as they meet again, laughing with Youngjae over Jaebum’s refusal to sing, and all the while wondering what exactly happened to him.

That night, after everyone’s fallen asleep on the couches and chairs pulled into what was once a dining room, Jaebum and Nayeon huddle near the heater in her room, like they used to do as children.

“What were you doing with them earlier?”

Jaebum doesn’t ask what she’s talking about. He knows. He was expecting her to ask.

“They won’t come back here again.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

“That’s all I’m going to tell you.”

Nayeon stares at her brother with intense eyes. These are the same eyes that used to melt their parents, that would stare him down for the last bit of cereal, that begged him to read her that scary story just once more.

These are eyes that now beg for clarity in a new and confusing world.

“Nayeon...”

“Tell me.”

“Dad’s dead.”

“I know.”

“He’s dead because of me.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“They did things to us, Nayeon. Things you don’t want to understand and I...I showed better _results_ than Dad, so they just let him die.”

“Results? Results for what?”

And that question Jaebum does not answer, because he’s not sure he himself even knows the answer, so he gets up and leaves the room, shutting the door quietly.

* * *

 

Nayeon adjusts to life with her brother and all of their friends again. It’s not what it used to be, their jokes and fears and hopes are different from the ones they used to have, different from the ones they could have in a time when they were only stressed students with upcoming exams and not survivors of this strange new world invaded by otherworldly beings. It was odd and new, and yet somehow still the same, and Nayeon was glad for it.

Mark and Jihyo are still blushing at the mere sight of one another, but where it used to happen during sleepovers and late night study sessions, it now occurred during weekly drives to the city to restock the pantry. Kunpimook is still hitting people with whatever book was in his hands, but the five hundred page hardcover on camping tips and tricks hurt more than the three hundred page paperback mysteries. Yugyeom still cared for Tzuyu like a little sister, but now he fussed over that cut on her leg from two weeks ago instead of a bruise she got playing hopscotch when she was five.

In this time, Nayeon never again did ask Jaebum about what had happened to him and she didn’t want to. She wanted to enjoy the time they were spending together, free of the worries of the reality they now lived in. Ignorance truly is bliss for Nayeon and she’s not ashamed of that.

This attitude is broken when she finds him hovering over his bed in the middle of the night.

She’d gone up there to ask him if he knew where Mark was; he’d come back from the city with Jihyo, but they were still nowhere to be found. She didn’t knock, because she never knocked and Jaebum never did anything weird or embarrassing in his room for that very reason.

At least, he never did it on purpose.

He isn’t that far from the mattress, maybe only a few inches above it, but it’s still shocking, seeing him just hang there, as though he were still lying down, his ankles and arms angled the way they are when he stares at the ceiling.

“Jaebum?” Nayeon whispers.

He floats back down to the mattress.

“I told you; you don’t want to understand.”

But she does.

“I don’t know the exact details, so don’t ask. But, basically they’re trying to colonize Earth with enhanced beings as some kind of experiment. They’ve done this on two other planets. They’re trying to examine what kind of affect it’ll have on the population: mass hysteria or acceptance or whatever. If it sounds callous and careless, that’s because it is. I told them that it was like a kid holding up a magnifying glass to a bunch of ants to see what would happen, but they didn’t get it.”

(What about Dad?)

“It was too much for him.”

(What was too much?)

“I don’t know.”

(How can you have _been_ through it and not know?)

“Because I don’t and we probably never will. I don’t understand and I don’t want to.”

(Do the others know?)

“Kunpimook, probably. He’s more observant than we think.”

(Has he said anything?)

“He hasn’t. He won’t.”

(How do you know?)

“I just do.”

* * *

 

Jaebum doesn’t talk to Nayeon again for a week, and she doesn’t care, because she’s too busy scolding Mark and Jihyo for embarrassing Tzuyu.

(We were just in the pantry, it was one hug, lighten up, please don’t tell anyone)

(Oh, is that what we’re calling it? Lip hugs?)

She stares them down while they promise not to do it again until she feels they’ve learned their lesson.

Jaebum’s still in his room. He doesn’t come out except to eat and even then it’s quick.

The estrangement lasts long enough for their alien guests to come back.

Tzuyu screams when she sees the ship passing over their neighborhood and grabs Jackson’s arm.

“They better not be staying here.” Jaebum says.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Everyone watched it, half-expecting whoever was on the other side to just open it themselves.

Joon broke the stupor, walking with careful steps towards the door and turning the knob slowly.

There’s a stillness in the air, a collective holding in of breath and words, as Joon opens the door, blocking everyone else’s view while he leans forward in thinly-veiled anticipation.

“Hello. I’m looking for a Mr. Park and a Mr. Im.” Says a woman dressed very professionally, almost too professionally, Joon thinks.

“Um, yes, half of that would be me.” He replies, not attempting to hide his obvious skepticism.

“I see. And the other half?”

Joon watches her, a little longer than necessary, before turning around and beckoning to Jaebum.

“Uh, lady here’s asking for the both of us.”

Jaebum narrows his eyes, but finds himself standing next to Jaebum anyway.

“And that makes two. Perfect. If you’ll follow me, gentleman?”

Jaebum and Joon shared a hesitant glance, but they complied with the woman anyway.

* * *

 

“What do they want?” Jaebum says. For once, he’s not in the driver’s seat, leaning over to whisper to Joon in the back seat of the woman’s sedan. Her name is Oh Yeonseo, and she claims to be some kind of representative of their “guests.”

“That’s what you call them? Guests?” Joon asked.

“Well, what else would you say they were?” Yeonseo replied, watching the two through the rearview mirror.

“Guests are invited, Ms. Oh.” Jaebum says.

Yeonseo doesn’t respond.

* * *

 

Yeonseo takes them to a camp where the ship is parked. There are open air tents everywhere, packed with people and strange-looking equipment. Jaebum’s sure that he sees a few stretchers behind one of the tents, but Joon taps him on the shoulder, indicating that it’s time for them to get out.

The tent Yeonseo leads them to is the only enclosed one. As they step inside, Jaebum notices a stairway going downwards.

“You’ll have to forgive the chill down there; they’re unused to this kind of heat.”

Jaebum doesn’t know what kind of heat she could possibly be talking about, but he doesn’t ask.

Yeonseo stands there, smiling brightly, but with an expectant look that suggests she’s waiting for one of them to go first.

Joon huffs and steps forward. Jaebum follows him.

* * *

 

Jaebum isn’t sure exactly what he expected; little green beings or lanky gray giants, but he knows that he didn’t expect what he sees in front of him.

Six people, actual human people, stand before him. They’re of varying heights, races, weights, ages, and genders. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of uniform, either. Some are dressed as clean-cut as Yeonseo; others look as casual as college kids on spring break.

The room is dark, except for the circle in which they stand, illuminated as though by spotlight. Jaebum can’t see exactly how large it is, but it feels wide. Yeonseo is to his left, smiling again, as though she’s looking upon a group of impressive youngsters.

“I suppose you would like to know why you are here?” Says an elderly man in the middle. He’s attempting a grandfatherly smile, but it just comes off as fake.

Joon snorts at the question, and Jaebum elbows him, sensing the “no shit” that’s certainly rising in the older man’s throat.

“Yes, we would.” Jaebum answers.

“Well, don’t worry. We’re not asking for anything else from you. Our experiment here is done.”

“What do you mean?” Jaebum asks.

“My...colleague hasn’t quite put it the right way. This isn’t an experiment, but rather its beginning stages. We’re setting up the proper conditions, so to speak.” This comes from a tall high school aged girl on the right.

“This is a social experiment, as you would call it. Once we leave, a few of our people shall be left behind to observe you and send back regular reports on your progress, or lack thereof.” The old man again.

The words lap against Jaebum like waves on a beach. He doesn’t care who’s saying it now, all he knows is that he wants to punch them.

“What the hell are you talking about? You think this is some kind of goddamn game?” Joon says, and Jaebum doesn’t think to stop him.

“It’s not a game, no. It’s an observation. We are scientists, and you are our test subjects.” The girl.

“Is this not quite similar to what was once done by your scientist Mendel? He crossbred flowers and planted them to see which ones would take on which genes and then created a mathematical formula to determine this in future populations.

“Mendel wasn’t a sick fuck who took people from their homes and their children and let them die because they were too fucking busy watching their other _experiments_.” This time it’s Jaebum who speaks.

“Oh, you’re Mr. Im’s son, aren’t you? Boy, if it weren’t for his death, we wouldn’t have known how to stabilize your DNA. Be grateful for his sacrifice. We are not heartless people.”

“You’re not people. You’re monsters.” Jaebum feels Joon grab his wrist gently. He’s going too far. He doesn’t care.

“If you feel that way. It doesn’t matter to us.”

“We’re only trying to understand you creatures a bit better. Be glad that we find you interesting at all.”

And at that, Jaebum lunges forward, fists swinging at the figures in front of him. He passes through air. Joon reaches and grabs him, pulling the two of them to the floor.

Joon drags Jaebum into the lobby as soon as they’re dismissed. Yeonseo, sensing the intense conversation they’re about to have, excuses herself.

“Hey. Hey, look at me. Calm down, will you? You being angry won’t do us any good.” Joon says, resting his hand on Jaebum’s shoulder.

“So what _am_ I supposed to do? Just stand there? They’re using us for their bullshit science projects.”

“Hey, you shut the fuck up right now and listen to me. There’s nothing else to be done here. They’re leaving. It’s over. You don’t have to deal with it anymore.”

“I know, but-“

“But nothing. Your father wouldn’t want you to sit around steaming over this for the rest of your life.”

“I’m not going to, I just-“

“Yeah, yeah, you just want to go set shit on fire and be destructive and angry. I got it. Go grieve, huh? Your sister lost a dad. Go mourn together.”

Jaebum is frustrated and hurt and sad and all of these emotions swirl around in his brain until he can’t think. His mouth opens and closes, but nothing is said. He follows Joon and Yeonseo back to the sedan.

* * *

 

Jaebum shuffles behind Joon into the house. Tzuyu watches them as they enter, about to ask what happened before Jackson catches her and shakes his head no.

Jaebum closes himself off from the others again, though this time, he does it because he feels helpless and lost.

Nayeon sits next to him on the couch one day, and he doesn’t tell her to leave.

“Joon told me you’re trying to do the grieving thing on your own.” She says.

“Did he now?”

“He did. That makes me mad.”

Jaebum turns towards his sister. His younger sister, who is watching him with a blank expression and he is not comfortable with that.

“Why would you be mad about it?”

“Because I lost him too, Jaebum.”

* * *

 

At some point, Nayeon thinks that maybe the governments should have been re-established already. Empty businesses, banks, and homes litter this world, yet no one has filled them, no one has restored them to what they once were.

“Are we all just still in shock?” She asks Jaebum one day. He’s hovering above his bed again.

“About what?”

“About everything. We’re still catching fish and trading sugar like frontiersman or something.”

“That’s not true. I hate fish. I’m growing vegetables and fruits.”

“But they’re gone now. We don’t have to worry about being taken away for their bullshit experiment anymore. We can go back to our old lives.”

“Maybe nobody liked their old lives. I’m sure Mark and Jihyo are much happier now that they can make googly eyes at each other in public without worrying about everyone else noticing.”

Nayeon looks at her brother with curious eyes. He is more relaxed now than he used to be. His forehead does not carry the wrinkles of a stressed man.

“...You sound like Dad.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Nayeon laughs and Jaebum floats back down.

                                                                                                                            _fin_


End file.
